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Tara Leigh Cobble
Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Leigh Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible recap. Remember the Amalekites? They were the first people to attack Israel when they were in the wilderness, way back in Exodus 17. And in Deuteronomy 25, God commanded Israel to blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. The Israelites were supposed to completely wipe them out and kill all living things, but that still hasn't happened. So maybe now that Israel has a king, they can pull it off. Samuel charges Saul with the task. Saul and his army win the battle, but he takes the king alive, as well as a lot of animals. And even though he claims total victory, we'll see later on in chapter 30 that there are still several hundred people alive among the Amalekites. So Saul's obedience is far from thorough here. He opts for selective obedience instead of complete obedience, which serves as further evidence that he's unsuitable as Israel's king. God speaks to Samuel about Saul's kingship. And a lot of translations use the word regret here, saying God regretted making Saul king. But then later, in verse 29, we see that God can't regret things. So which is it? The word used can also be translated as to be grieved. So it's possible to read it as God was grieved over the fact that he made Saul king. God is not saying he made the wrong choice. He said all along how this choice would go for Israel, and now he's showing that it went exactly as he said, and he's grieved over that. Samuel shares God's righteous anger. The next day, Samuel goes to confront Saul, and he finds out that Saul has set up a monument to himself, not God. And as Saul is telling Samuel all about what a great job he did obeying God, there are two noteworthy things happening. First, he keeps referring to Yahweh as your God, not my God or our God. And second, Samuel can hear animal noises. So he asks Saul about it, and Saul doesn't repent. Instead, he tells a series of lies about why the animals are there. I obeyed. I disobeyed. But it was for a good reason. The people were actually the ones who disobeyed. Samuel shuts him down. He says that sacrifices aren't a replacement for obedience. Then Samuel points out that every time Saul does his own thing, it's as bad as if he were following a false God. Saul has become his own God. And since Saul, as the leader of Yahweh's people, has rejected Yahweh, then Yahweh has rejected him as leader of his people. God has raised up a new king. When Saul hears this, he confesses because now he's feeling the pinch, but he seems to only respond to consequences. Then Samuel has to go finish Saul's job for him. He personally kills Agag, the king of the Amalekites. But the whole thing really messes Samuel up. It seems like he kind of feels responsible for all this. God tells Samuel it's all going to work out and that he'll even have a part to play in that. In fact, he gets to anoint a new king. So he goes to Bethlehem and finds Jesse, who is the grandson of Ruth and Boaz, by the way. He meets all of Jesse's sons and God says no to all of them, even the tall one. If you recall, Saul's appearance was his biggest selling point and things didn't go well. So this time around, God emphasizes that the choice will be about character and integrity, not inseam. Finally, God gives the thumbs up to David, the youngest son, who is late to the scene because he's at work on the family farm. Samuel privately anoints David to be king, just like he'd done with Saul. Then an interesting thing happens. God the Spirit leaves Saul and comes to David. As we've talked about before, in the Old Testament, God the Spirit moved around a lot. He was always described as being on or over people, and he primarily shows up to equip and empower someone for a specific task. So now that Saul's time on the throne is being brought to an end and David is being raised up, this is a natural transition of the spirit's location and empowerment after God the Spirit leaves Saul. God the Father sends a harmful spirit to Saul. It's important to note two things here. First, God is never the active agent of evil. He never does it himself. But he does use the work of evil spirits to his own ends. Second, I always think it's encouraging to remember that evil is still subject to God's sovereignty and authority. Saul's servants notice that something is off with him and they suggest hiring a musician specifically. Specifically David. Anytime David comes to play, the harmful spirit leaves. This could have been happening at God's command in order to grant David favor with Saul. Or it's also possible that the evil spirit was tormented by being in the same room where Yahweh was being worshiped through David's songs. Who knows? Around this time, the Philistines are back again, trying to fight for More land. They're doing a unique kind of battle where each side picks their strongest man and the side of the winner takes all. It would be like if the NBA playoffs were replaced with a slam dunk contest. Speaking of height, the Philistines have this giant Goliath who is probably nine. Nine, approximately. And as we've mentioned, the average Israelite at this time was roughly five and a half feet tall. Goliath's armor alone probably weighed as much as the average Israelite. Three of David's older brothers are fighting in this war. Or to be more precise, sitting on the hill, waiting in this war because no one is stepping up to fight Goliath. Meanwhile, David is commuting between two jobs, playing the harp for the king and running the family farm. Then one day his dad is like, hey, you don't have a lot going on, right? Can you take some lunch to your brothers who've been sitting on a hill for the past six weeks? Ever the diligent servant, David does, he arrives at the battlefield just in time to hear Goliath mocking Israel. And he asks about the reward for beating this guy. Word gets back to Saul that someone is asked about the reward, but when Saul sees who it is, he's like, the harpist. Oh, man, that's cute. But no. And David tells him, I'm not just a harpist. I'm a shepherd at my other job, and I've killed lions and bears with my hands. I can do the same with this guy who's mocking us and our God. Saul's like, well, you're all we've got. Godspeed. David has an unconventional approach to battle. He rejects armor and just goes with what he knows, a sling, and an incredibly powerful battle cry. Seriously, it's saturated with faith in God. Go back and read it again. David stands in stark contrast to Saul, who is eaten up with fear. David kills Goliath with one swing of a slingshot, decapitates him with his own sword, then keeps his head as a trophy. After this, Saul takes a lot more interest in David. Suddenly, he's not just the harpist. Saul wants to know all about him, just like we read yesterday in 1452, which says, When Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he attached him to himself. And it may sound great for the king to attach you to himself, but probably not if that king is tormented by a demon. Stick around to see how that goes. In the meantime, what was your God shot? I loved the reminder that God has emotions. Like when he was grieved over making Saul king. Even though God knows everything and is outside of time, he's still in time as well. He's in each moment with us. He hated that things were happening the way they were with Saul, even though he set it in motion and knew it would all work out smoothly in the end. You've probably felt this way over tough decisions you've made as well. You have to punish your child, but you hate having to do it. But you know it's good and right and that it will be better in the long run. This thought makes me never want to offer trite platitudes to people who are struggling, because now it's easy for me to imagine God grieving with them in that moment. The fact that he has emotions about things that he's not removed and distant and unaffected, it draws me to him all the more. I want to bring him joy, not grief. He's certainly done that for me. I say it all the time and it's still true. He's where the joy is. I'll be honest, I've never been accused of talking too slow. And when I start talking about something I'm super passionate about, like, you know who God is, my tempo can get even faster. So if I talk too fast for you, or if you're taking notes, I have great news for you. Thanks to technology, you can control how fast I speak. Most podcast apps let you change the playback speed to slower or faster. The easiest way to find out how to adjust the speed on your podcast app is to do a quick web search for how to adjust the speed on and add in the name of your app, happy listening at whatever speed you choose.